Branded links combine a custom short domain with a URL shortener's redirect engine. The business registers a dedicated domain — often a short `.co`, `.io`, or country-code domain, or a subdomain like `go.acme.com` — and points it at the shortener via a CNAME record. The shortener serves redirects from that host, so end users see `acme.co/x` instead of `generic-shortener.com/x`. The business benefits are threefold: brand reinforcement (every share mentions the company), trust (audiences are more likely to click a URL they recognize), and deliverability (spam filters and messaging apps rely on domain reputation, so a clean business domain beats a shared shortener host). Several industry surveys place the click-through-rate lift from branded links at roughly 30 to 40 percent compared with anonymous shortener URLs. The cost is configuration: you must own the domain, configure DNS, and serve HTTPS for it — which requires a TLS certificate automatically provisioned or uploaded to the shortener. Large programs may maintain multiple branded domains, one per product line or region, each with its own analytics stream.